Aim For the Miss
by Dfeard
Summary: Join Jeff S. Sterling as he attends Dalton Academy's Warblers. Dalton Academy may look like a high-class premise but behind the curtains,they train unique individuals to master their skills for the government.
1. Chapter 1

Bootcamp is Heaven Compared.

_This place looks too fancy to be vicious._

It was the first thought that ran through the blond's mind. Calculating eyes drifted over the high-class premises, judging and measuring the architectural design and security measurements as he walked past them on his way to the huge mahogany doors that sat on the front steps of the main building. Looks were deceiving and if the tall blond hadn't done his research and hadn't known its details down to a T, he would have thought that this was just another amazing country home villa.

His fingers drifted lightly over the raised designs on the door before pressing into some sections of the vine-like design. As he expected, the miniscule segments collapsed easily under his fingers. His ears picked up the whirring sounds and various clangs and clicks of metal pieces falling into place being part of its mechanism.

A small section of the wall beside the door rolled up. The lifted white plaster revealed a rather simple DNA scanner in his opinion. He has seen higher security standards. Placing his fingers and thumbs, one by one, onto the green slate of the scanner, he waited for the program to finish so he could be allowed in.

The eerie line of green light faded, indicating the end of the scan. He walked forward and as he expected the casual-looking wall lamp twisted on its wall attachment and turned downwards. Another flashing red light shone down on him.

**Jeff S. Sterling  
>Codename: Not Given<br>Ranking: Freshman  
>Specialty: Profiling, In-depth Research, Plotting<strong>

A relived sigh escaped his lips as he heard the lock on the door clicked open and he couldn't help but feel excited for the world that awaited him on the other side of the door. The doors swung open to give him entrance to the new world that waited him.

The blond swore that his heart stopped and his breath was snatched away from him as his eyes caught sight of the metal bullet that grazed against the skin of his jaw, just an extremely thin slip from piercing into him that would have in no doubt shattered his jaw.

"You're going to die on the field."

Appreciating the fact that he was still alive, Jeff took a deep breath and let out a sigh of relief. His eyes drifted towards the figure that was leaning against the wall of the dimly lit hallway about 40 ft. away from him. Eyes squinted behind the glass of his spectacles to try and catch the face of the stranger. Shifting the backpack on his shoulder, he walked forward, towards the other just as the other walked over to him.

As the stranger walked into a patch of sunlight that streamed from a glass window (_polycarbonate product_, he noted, _bulletproof_), the blond could make out his appearance. Dark raven locks against fairly pale skin, shorter structure, leather jacket over a simple red tee. He reminded Jeff of a male version of Angelina Jolie for some reason. The gold nametag on his jacket gleamed against the sunlight, catching Jeff's attention.

_Falcon_

**Nick Duval  
>Codename: Falcon<br>Ranking: Junior  
>Specialty: Sharpshooter<br>Son to the chief of the Federal Police**

He could see deep brown eyes judging him and tagging him as inferior to the brunet.

A metal entity flew in his direction. _Made out of bronze_, he realized before catching it with his right hand. Curious, the blond turned the piece over in his hand. It was a nametag with the word 'Tarot' forged in it.

"That's your new name. Remember it. Forget your real name." The brunet instructed curtly, his smooth voice bouncing off the walls in echoes. The sound of steps followed as Falcon walked away, not waiting for the blond.

"Wait, Ni-"

_BANG!_

The sound of the shot was the first thing the blond noticed, the second thing he noticed was the pain that shot up his arm. His felt a sickening need to hurl as he watched the blood pour out of his arm.

The brunet stormed back in front the hunched figure of the whimpering blond. He grabbed the blond's hoodie and yanked him down to his eye level, ignoring the pained yelp. "_Never _call me _that_." He sneered, eyes glaring at the blond. He thought of letting go of his hold but decided against it, proceeding to drag the pained blond, who was now on the verge of passing out caused by the amount blood-loss.

With his conscious fading in and out, Tarot watched as his surroundings pass by him. The lingering smell of gunpowder drifted around them, slowly fading. Just when he thought he was going to slip into unconsciousness. He was constantly stumbling over his own feet as he tried to keep up with Falcon's pace.

Just as he was catching up with Falcon, the force that was tugging at him was now much stronger and before he knew it, he felt the air rushing past him and he was flying an-

_CRASH!_

Tarot was snatched out his daze by the sharp pounding pain that shot up his arm as he landed on his side. Eyes snapping open and mouth trying to scream out in agony but all that came out was a silent wheeze.

An exasperated sigh was heard. "His first day and you're already bringing him to the edge of death." Another voice spoke out from the room. A wave of the sharp scent of sanitizer struck the blond as he looked over to the source of the voice.

A short scientist- he guessed- was standing across from him, rummaging through what seems to be a medicine cabinet. His dark locks standing in contrast to his milky pale skin, which was just a shade darker than his pristine lab coat. As he turned around to face the blond, Tarot could see that he was Hispanic, safety goggles balanced on top of his head, about 5 different bottles balancing in his arms. A platinum piece on his coat gleamed.

**Thad Hardwood  
>Codename: Elixir<br>Ranking: Senior  
>Specialty: Medicine, Bioengineering<strong>

Elixir gave him a warm smile. "Welcome."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: For the reviewer (thank you for reading, I'm glad you liked it :)) Blaine and Kurt may be part of another crew but they won't be in here as main characters. And in place of Sebastian's character, the twins that Grant acted as on CSI shall be here. I shall try to post a chapter a week. Enjoy :)

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><p>Strangers in Stride<p>

The blond wanted to raise his hand and give a wave to the scientist but decided against it. If he lessened the pressure on his wound, it would hurt more. In the end, he just smiled in a sense of salutation; he hoped.

The Hispanic nodded politely in response. "Alright, if you could just sit up, I would be able to recover the bullet and patch you up." The senior said it so nonchalantly; the tone of his voice seemed to fit Tarot's assumption that these injuring events happened often.

With that, the blond tried to push himself up into a seated position, biting back a groan of pain that shot up his arm when he moved.

Before, prepping the necessary medical equipment, Elixir turned to Falcon. "Could you please inform S-"

"Already on it," Falcon interrupted with a grumble, walking away with a dismissive wave.

Shaking his head at Falcon's couldn't-care-less attitude, Elixir turned to face the blond. Taking a long ripped piece of cloth, he tied it tightly above the wound. He was just about to reach for his pair of forceps when a buff, blond guy trudged his way into the room.

"Elixir, I need another r- Hey, it's the new guy!" He acknowledged the other blond with a grin before turning back to Elixir. "Anyways, I need another roll of bandage." He said, holding out his fists to the Hispanic and Tarot felt like he wanted to puke. His knuckles were pale and bloody and it really looked like he popped most of his knuckles. It was a ghastly sight for Tarot but a normal one for anyone who knew the buff blond.

**Richard Moore  
>Codename: Riot<br>Ranking: Junior  
>Specialty: Martial arts, boxing, wrestling and other forms of self-defense<br>has a younger brother who stays with him but isn't part of the program**

The small brunet rolls his eyes and turns to get said items from a cabinet above the sink. "I wish you would stop wasting my bandages and save your fists for an actual incident." Elixir commented, placing the roll of gauze next to Tarot before proceeding to take off the ruined remains of Riot's torn bandages.

"Oh, come on. Practice makes perfect, right?" Riot said with an impish grin and before the brunet could do anything, he had grabbed Elixir and gave him a noogie.

The high-pitched squeal that Elixir was quite hilarious. "No! You're getting blood on my hair! My hygiene! Now, I'm going to have to wash my hair before cleaning this guy's wound!" The brunet huffed. He threw the roll of gauze at Riot, who was laughing his head off at Elixir's reaction. Right now, Elixir looked like a five year-old throwing a tantrum. He was stomping all around the room, grabbing bottles of what seemed like various types of sanitizers and cleaning agents before he marched out of the room and slammed the door shut.

The boxer was still shaking from laughter when he walked over to the cupboard that stood beside Tarot. Grabbing a packet of pills, he tossed it to the other.

Painkillers…

Tarot thanked him and swallowed a couple of them, waiting for the medicine to take effect.

"Yeah, Elixir wouldn't have given you that. He thinks you should get use to not having them, especially if we're on the field." Riot told him as he wrapped his hands with gauze, effectively hiding the slightly gory sight from Tarot's eyes.

The bespectacled guy nodded in response. "Thanks." He noticed Riot staring at his bullet wound and laughed nervously. "Falcon shot me," he informed simply.

Riot snorted, "Who else? Anyways, all the best, kid!" He called out over his shoulder as he left the room.

Tired and worn out, the injured blond leaned back against the wall and felt reality slowly slipping away.

\/\/

"Why are we doing this again?"

"It's fun and we don't get to do this often."

"I didn't quit my job to come to this academy and throw ice water on some guy's face."

"I've given you a part of me to save your life and you can't do this for me?"

"You're forever going to hold on to that, aren't you?"

"As long as I can get away with..."

"Fine…"

_SPLASH!_

The blond shot up, his eyes flew open as his face was suddenly engulfed in a thick layer of freezing cold water, effectively snatching him away from his blissful state of unconsciousness. Sputtering and gasping for air, he shook his head to rid the water from his platinum blond locks. Blinking away the water that stung his eyes, he looked over to the two or was it one? Maybe he was seeing things. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and saw a pair of twins staring at him.

One had his bronze fringe swept over his forehead and was grinning like a Cheshire cat that had Mad Hatter's Hat.

**Scott Lewis  
>Codename: Guile<br>Ranking: Sophomore  
>Specialty: Dealing, Undercover<br>Trent's twin, who he donated part of his liver to**

**T**he other had his brown locks gelled upwards; his expression, worried and apologetic.

**Trent Wright  
>Codename: Ail<br>Ranking: ****Sophomore****  
>Specialty: Engineering<br>Scott's Twin**

Watching the blond's confused expression, Ail decided to explain the situation. "After you passed out, Elixir came back and patched you up. He had to go and fix Gabe up after K9's whippet bit him. So, he left us to take care of you."

Guile smirked. "Now, the seniors are waiting for you. You better go off before Falcon comes here and shoot you again." He advised with a chuckle.

. The mention of Falcon's name within the same lines of gunfire couldn't have had the blond jumping out of his seat faster. "Ok! So where do I go?" He exclaimed in faux excitement.

Guile snickered at Tarot's reaction before walking out of the room, not bothering to answer Tarot's question.

Ail held onto his twin's sleeve and pulled him back into the room. "_We're _supposed to be your guide." He said, giving Guile a pointed look. "So you have to follow _us_."

The other twin rolled his eyes and used Ail's hold on him to drag him out of the room with him.

Tarot followed them anxiously, wondering what had he gotten himself into.

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><p>FCs: Tarot (Riker Lynch), Falcon (Curt Mega), Elixir (Eddy Martin), Riot (Jon Hall), Guile and Ail (Grant Gustin)<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Here is the 3rd chapter! Hope you guys like it :D

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><p><span>Beauty of a Box<span>

The blond made sure to take note of the corridors and the details that surrounded the building. It was as if this building was built for the perfect image of a European country villa or some high-class, fancy all-boys boarding school. He was in awe. Marble lined the hallway floors and delicate looking wallpaper covered the walls, he was pretty sure that they were hand-painted. He had peeked into one of the rooms and noted that they were paneled with wood. Leather couches and mahogany tables were arranged neatly. He openly gaped at the valuable paintings hanging on the walls. This place looked like the last place that would have been made into a killing training center.

_Perfect illusion_, he thought as he caught up with the twins as they started descending down the marble steps of the staircase.

Ail tugged on his brother's sleeve lightly and Guile gave a subtle nod in reply before turning to push the double doors in front of them.

Tarot followed, staring at the vast room, realizing that it was some sort of cafeteria.

The twins walked around a couple of tables before pushing past another pair of wooden doors.

Even the kitchen looked terribly expensive. It was a perfect mix of modern and classic with dark marble counters and wooden cabinets. Gleaming kitchen appliances stood on few of the counters and the ten foot tall fridge looked more like the closet doors to the Narnia of food.

"Think fast!"

Ail immediately caught the flying water bottle, clearly expecting this.

The man who threw the bottled water gave him a toothy grin. Unlike Elixir, it was extremely noticeable that he was Hispanic, whereas Elixir looked slightly more Caucasian. His dark locks were spiked upwards. Sharp knives were lined along his belt.

**Alexander Garcia  
>Codename: Gabe<br>Ranking: Sophomore  
>Specialty: Knife-play, Sword-wielding<br>**

"Is that the damage K9's whippet did?" Guile asked, eying the bandage wrapped around Gabe's arm.

The Hispanic nodded; the smile still on his face. "Elixir said it wouldn't have been as dangerous if K9 didn't file the whippet's teeth down to a pointy T." He chuckled, taking of the bandage to show what seemed to be a number of holes punched into his flesh, a chunk of it also seemed to be missing.

Once again, Tarot felt the unnecessary need to hurl at the sight of blood dripping from the wounds.

"Rookie?" Gabe asked, acknowledging the blond standing near the door. Despite the injury on his arm, he managed to wave enthusiastically at the new kid.

Tarot waved awkwardly, his eyes still locked onto the gaping wound on the Hispanic's arm.

Taking a sip of his water, Ail noticed how sick the blond looked and realized that it was probably caused by the gory sight of Gabe's wound. "I think your wound might be a bit of a shock to him. You should put the bandage on." He suggested before taking another sip of his water.

The brunet's eyebrows rose before he let out a laugh and wrapped the bandage back around his arm. "Right, sorry, I keep forgetting that people aren't used to this. I guess, it's a common thing when you start living here."

"It's like you're trying to scare him off," Guile chuckled, clearly amused.

The Hispanic gave a non-committal shrug in response before turning back to his meal to resume eating.

The slick twin turned to look at his brother who was still sipping his water then looked at his watch. "Is it ok if you drink while we walk to the main room? Sable is going to blow his top if we're late." He said, passing his twin the cover of the bottle before tugging at his sleeve and pulling him out of the room, past the blond.

"Sable is not the one we should worry about." Ail said, holding the bottle to his chest.

The other twin scrunched up his nose, rubbing a hand on his opposite shoulder. "True, I don't need another shot from Falcon."

"That shot was meant for me." Ail spoke in a stern voice. "You shouldn't have tried to block it."

Guile scoffed, "You just had your surgery. The doctor told you to rest."

"You were part of the surgery as much as me! It was your liver they had to take a piece of!" Ail scolded, punching his twin lightly.

"Yeah, but I wasn't ill." Guile pointed out with a smirk, knowing that his twin couldn't win against him in this common topic of conversation.

Ail replied with a small huff of exasperation. "Whatever, I need to use the bathroom." The brunet walked away, leaving his twin behind.

"He's so moody." Guile commented before rushing over to catch up with his twin.

Before, the blond could say anything, both boys were gone. "Wait! Where am I supposed to go?" He exclaimed, looking around at the empty corridors.

The resounding sound of gunfire had Tarot's heart halfway up his throat.

"Where the fuck is this kid?" Falcon shouted angrily, bursting through a pair of double doors nearby. The gun in his hand still smoking from ignition.

"Falcon, calm down… He must've gotten lost or something. After all, it's Guile who's guiding him," someone else chuckled. Tarot recognized the voice belonged to the boxer, Riot.

"Do you know what happens when you're late on the field? You die," Falcon spoke in a dangerous tone, directing his gun towards Riot, the point against the boxer's chest.

Riot's frame shook as he let out a laugh. "You know you can't scare me. My fist would smash your jaw before you pull the trigger."

Falcon gave Riot a deathly glare, "Only because I'm using an age-old revolver."

"Lucky me then," Riot replied with a wide smile.

The shorter brunet rolled his eyes before they scanned around the hallways; his eyes narrowing at the bespectacled blond standing in the middle of the hallway.

Tarot wasn't going to lie, every single time Falcon looked at him, he feared for his life, especially if the brunet had a gun in his hand. It has mostly to do with their first encounter.

"Please don't hurt him. Sable said we're already behind schedule." The buff blond advised before walking back into the room.

Falcon trudged his way over to the blond, pinching the newly-stitched wound, making the blond cry out as pain shot through his arm, and preceded to drag the Tarot by that pinch into the room.

The blond prayed that Falcon was the only one out of this whole crew who was this vicious.

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><p>FC: Gabe (Jaymz Tuaileva)<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Here is the fourth chapter. Thank you for the review, sweetheart 3 I hope you enjoy the rest of the story ;p

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><p><span>Platinum Plates<span>

Oak doors swung rapidly on its hinges, smashing into the wall that it was connected to, destroying the delicate wallpaper. The loud bang caused by the doors slamming, echoed throughout the room as did the sound of the wall slowly cracking.

A tired sigh was heard from someone in the room. "Falcon, please, we cannot afford any more property damage."

Falcon rolled his eyes. "K9, it was cracked before."

"That's 'cause _you_ were the one who made a crack in it." Another sigh followed.

The blond looked up to see a dark-skinned guy leaning against the large mahogany desk, massaging his temples; a whippet circling around the man's legs.

**David Thompson  
>Codename: K9<br>Ranking: Senior  
>Specialty: Dog-training and master at techniques<br>Wes' bodyguard**

_Thud! Thud! Thud!_

The repeated sound of wood hitting wood, bounced off the walls, redirecting Tarot's attention to the man sitting behind the desk. The man looked of Asian descent, his lavender button-down neatly pressed and his expression remained serene with a tint of a smile as he stopped hitting the gavel in his hand onto the wood.

"Glad you could join us, Tarot."

**Wesley Montgomery  
>Codename: Sable<br>Ranking: Senior  
>Specialty: Master of all trades, Jack of none, Mastermind of the Warblers.<br>Father was an advisor; mother was a judge.  
>Family burnt in a fire.<strong>

"It's an honor." The blond replied, sighing relief as Falcon let go of his pinch on the blond's arm. He rubbed the aching spot with his other hand.

Sable gave a warm smile, gesturing the blond to sit on one of the expensive-looking leather couches.

"I shall give you a brief orientation as to what you should be aware of," the Asian started as he loaded a presentation to project onto the white screen behind the desk. Using a laser pointer, he directed the red dot to the projected slide which displayed 5 names on it:

**Official Fraternity  
>Warblers<br>Way-wards  
>Warriors<br>Winter-storm**

"These are the 5 teams set in Dalton Academy. We are the Warblers, the most elite group other than the group of elders, Official Fraternity. The Way-wards and Warriors are our neighbors. Although, please note, that each crew member must protect their own base and crew. We do not fraternize with the other crews. We do not abandon a crew member in need of help. We _never _betray our crew. Have I made myself clear?"

Tarot nodded in reply, thoughts raced through the blond's mind as he had caught a glimpse of the other two bases beside them. The new information seeped into his brain, he made sure to lock it away. He was sure that it would come to good use. Rules always had loopholes.

Sable narrowed his eyes at the blond; he was the master of all trades. He knew what the blond was thinking. "Those rules apply without exception." Sable said; his voice firm, stern and clear. Turning around, the Asian opened a drawer and threw a key in Tarot's direction. "You shall be sharing a room with Quest."

It was unexpected to the blond, hence why the key hit him square in the forehead.

Falcon glared at the blond. "He can't even catch a key! Sable, he would die on the field!"

Sable smooth down his shirt before sitting down on the expensive leather armchair that sat behind the desk, he gave a pointed look at Falcon. "That's why _you're _training him."

For all their differences, they are held the similar expressions at that moment. Given, Tarot may look a little paler, most likely for the fear of his life and Falcon did look like he was going to explode, his pale skin turning red slowly, most likely in rage.

Sable kept a calm expression as he waited for the undeniable outburst that was bound to come out of Falcon.

"What? Sable, with all due respect, I object!" Falcon yelled. "I cannot tolerate this… this cucumber!" He continued, pointing his gun at the poor blond.

Quickly grabbing one of the cushions, Tarot placed it over the muzzle of the gun. He wondered why Sable was plotting his demise at such an early stage.

A deep chuckle resounded from Riot; he found the situation extremely amusing. "Falcon's right. Tarot would probably die with him as his trainer. "

The Asian gave a calm grin at the three. "You do not make the decisions. My word is final." He concluded, hitting his gavel onto its pedal. "Your training starts tomorrow."

Falcon huffed angrily, storming out of the room.

"Riot, please follow him. Hopefully, you can control the property damage he does." K9 instructed, sighing deeply. Why did Sable have to do this? Oh well, the Asian did know best. He is the master of all trades after all.

Riot let out another chuckle before he ran out to catch the fuming brunet.

A loud _boom echoed_ throughout the halls, shaking the main room drastically. K9 looked like he wanted to throttle Sable. "All the property damage." He groaned, sitting down to pet the dog sleeping next to him.

"Calm down, K9. We can afford it." Sable smiled, standing up to pick a file from a nearby shelf. The Asian turned to the blond, momentarily forgetting he was there. "Well, what are you waiting for? Dorms are on the third floor. Your belongings have arrived earlier today and they have been placed into your room."

The blond gave a nod in reply. "Thank you for this chance and for allowing me to be part of this crew. I really appreciate it."

"I only select the best, and in your selected field, you are outstanding. Nevertheless, don't get too cocky." The Asian informed, flipping through the pages of the file he was reading, his eyes never leaving the page.

With that, Tarot went through the double doors and made his way to the stairs.

"Aren't you worried that Quest would recruit Tarot and turn on us?" K9 asked, fiddling the whistle that hung on a chain around his neck.

Sable shook his head. "I know what I'm doing, K9. Quest, wouldn't do anything drastic. After all, the leader of the Warriors gave his promise."

"And you believe that?"

"Of course not."


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Here's the 5th chapter :) I forgot to mention David's and Wes' FC but you guys probably know it. FC: K9 (Titus Makin Jr.) , Sable (Telly Leung). Anyways, thanks for the reviews, sweethearts 36 And to the question about Kurt, he could make a cameo appearance somewhere but he's not part of the Warbler crew. The New Direction guys are in Way-wards. I hope you enjoy the story :D

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><p><span>Wreck of Habitation<span>

Climbing up the stairwell, Tarot still couldn't shake off the high-class feeling of the place. The carpeted floors and wooden panels keep reminding him that he wasn't at home anymore. It was hard to grasp the fact that he was going to stay here now. No more laze days on his favorite beat-up couch. No, instead those days are replaced with hardcore training session and drills from one of the scariest guys he had the displeasure to meet. Tarot felt the blood drain from his face at the thought of the training that was going to take place tomorrow. Couldn't Sable actually wait for him to fail a mission first before arranging his death sentence? He would probably end up at Elixir's medical room again; beat up, bruised and broken.

Reaching the third floor of the building, the blond scanned the doors that lined the hall. None of them were marked. Looking down at the key in his hand, he realized that the key wasn't even labeled. You would think that a high-security building would have a card to scan instead of this ordinary piece of metal. He then noted the keyholes _beside_ the doors instead of on the door itself. He also wondered how he could have missed the fact that none of the doors had knobs or handles to match its wooden theme. _Odd…_

Hearing a door open, he noticed Riot running out of a room. The buff blond rushed over to him with a worried expression. Picking Tarot up by the shoulders, Riot shook the guy, shocking the other blond. "Have you seen my brother?" He yelled. From their brief encounters, Tarot had always thought of Riot as a calm and jolly guy, much like Santa. So, it was an understatement to say that this gruff and panicked, nearly hysterical attitude shocked the hell out of him.

Frozen, Tarot shook his head robotically.

Riot proceeded to drop the blond and run down the stairs, calling out to the whole household. "Sable, I need to see the surveillance cameras…again!"

Shaking out of his stupor, Tarot jumped back up to his feet, dusting his pants. With the wonder of how he was ever going to get use to the daily situations here, Tarot proceeded to make his ways to the door when the sound of crackling engulfed the halls.

"Ethan," A bored tone filled the halls, Tarot recognized it to be Guile's. "Your brother is looking for you...again. And to the clueless newbie, your room is the second one to your left."

The blond looked around the halls, to try and figure out where the speakers and the cameras were but he couldn't figure out where. "Thanks, Guile!" He called out. Turning to his left, he walked over and slipped the key into the lock, on the wall, beside the door. A portion of the wall slipped open to reveal a scanner, much like the front door of the building. He placed his right hand on the neon green scan pad. After much clicking and clanking, Tarot keyed in his pin numbers before watching the wooden door swinging open to reveal…

_Holy crap…_

Tarot didn't even know where to start to explain the mess that was set in front of him. All his things were strewn everywhere, on every piece of furniture. It was his first day here for goodness sake! Sable was already plotting his demise given with the fact that Falcon wants to kill him and now, what? Was the mafia looking for him? He wouldn't be surprised though.

"Hello!"

A reddish-brown-haired head appeared out of nowhere, popping out upside-down right in front of Tarot's face. Shocked, Tarot jumped back, somehow managing to slip on one of the objects on the floor and fell backwards, banging his head on the wooden door, which he could've sworn had metal chunks in it or something.

Recovering from his momentary black out, the blond sat up to look up at the guy who seemed to be dangling from the ceiling. "Wha-?"

"I'm Quest, your roommate." The guy grinned, jumping off the ceiling and landing in front of the blond in a crouched position.

**Kenneth Greene  
>Codename: Quest<br>Ranking: Freshman  
>Specialty: Spying<br>**

Tarot pushed himself off of the floor, into a seated position, rubbing the back of his head. There would be a bump growing there in the morning for sure. "I'm Tarot," he introduced himself, holding out his other hand to shake Quest's hand.

Quest smiled toothily, "I hope you don't mind. We just got a bit curious." He said, pointing to the mess and the tall hazel-haired boy standing beside the door, Tarot wondered why he didn't notice the other before. "That's Ethan."

**Ethan Moore  
>Not part of the program<br>Riot's little brother**

The tall, young boy beamed, waving happily at the blond with one hand. The other- Tarot noticed- was holding his precious guitar. "Do you play?" Ethan asked, passing the instrument over to the blond as Tarot nodded in reply. Ethan then joined Quest and Tarot on the floor, sitting with his legs crossed.

"Play something for us," Quest urged, waiting in anticipation for some music.

"Ok…" The blond placed his fingers on the strings on the neck of the guitar. He started strumming aimlessly at first, wondering what he should play. Putting his mind on shuffle and blindly selecting a song, he started to strum a familiar chord.

_It's a beautiful night; we're looking something dumb to do_

_Hey baby, I think I want to marry you_

_Is it the look in your eyes? Or is it this dancing juice?_

_Who cares baby? I think I want to marry you._

_Well, I know this little chapel on the boulevard_

_We can go, no one will know_

_So come on, girl_

_Who cares if we're trashed, got a pocketful of cashew can blow_

_Shots of patron, and it's on, gir-_

"ETHAN!"

Tarot needed to stop being surprised. Really, jumping out of his skin is starting to become a second nature.

Riot burst into the room, seeing his little brother and giving him a reprimanding look.

"Hi, Riot!" Ethan grinned. "Tarot's playing us some music on his guitar.

The elder brother sighed in relief, grabbing Ethan's hand and pulling him out of the room.

Quest was shaking with silent laughter. "Riot needs to stop getting so worried. Ethan was within the base grounds…this time."

Picking himself up and his guitar, Tarot made his way over to the middle of the catastrophic room, "So which bed is mine?"

The spy laughed, "The one with all your things on it. Sorry, we couldn't resist. We got kind of curious."

Tarot laughed along, shrugging. "It's ok." The blond then decided to clean up the mess, glad that his roommate was at least somewhat normal…except for the fact that he could walk on the ceiling but other than that, Tarot was pretty sure that the guy was as normal as anyone could be.

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><p>FC: Quest (KC Monnie) , Ethan (Matt Hall)<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: So here is the 6th Chapter and I hope you enjoy it :D Also big thanks to Dani for picking the FC ;)

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><p><span>Meals and Moonlight<span>

It was a peaceful setting. With their window swung open, allowing the breeze to drift in. Tarot felt at ease for the first time since he stepped into the base. Leaning with his back against the headboard and his guitar in his lap, strumming mindlessly, the blond started singing.

_I remember tears streaming down your face_

_When I said I'll never let you go_

_When all those shadows nearly killed your light_

_I remember you said, 'Don't leave me here alone.'_

_But all that's dead and gone and passed toni-_

Suddenly, Tarot found himself silenced and his face smothered with a pillow. He removed the plush object and jumped when he noticed the spy sitting in front of him. How did he manage to move so fast? The other boy had a frown on his face. "That song is depressing."

The blond gave a sheepish grin in reply. "I'm sorry. Do you want me to change into a happier song?"

Quest nodded excitedly, a wide smile on his face as he bounced in his seat. Something fluttered out of the boy's slacks and onto his floor. Curious, Tarot reached down and picked it up. It was some sort of wrapper… _Nicotine gum_, it read. The blond raised an eyebrow as Quest quickly snatched it from him with a flushed face. "You smoke?" The blond asked disbelievingly. The spy looked so young and even if he wasn't, he didn't seem like the type to smoke.

Shaking his head, he chuckled and started fiddling with the wrapper. "No, it- My former leader did."

"Former leader…?"

Quest let out an amused laugh at the blond's confused expression. "I guess no one told you but Gabe and I were part of the Warriors. I was caught spying and Gabe was transferred." He explained, he leaned closer and pulled down the collar of his black tee to show the scorched mark on his neck to the blond. "K9 caught me and used a Taser on me but instead of killing me, the Warblers decided to keep me. I was lucky it was K9 who caught me, the others may not have showed any compassion and killed me on the spot."

Letting out a small gasp, the blond gave the spy a sympathetic look. It was such a harsh thing to do to a young guy like Quest. "I'm sorry to hear that. I'm guessing you miss your leader, huh?" He could tell by the way Quest was staring longingly at the piece of wrapper.

The young spy replied with a sad smile and a nod. "Yeah, he was a good leader."

"Well, I'm sure you'll get to meet him again soon, at least, in the annual tournament maybe?" The blond tried to console him. Shifting his fingers on his guitar strings to a different chord, Tarot was about to start to play a different and happier song as requested.

A knock on their door, stole Quest's attention away from his musings and Tarot's attention to the song. Gabe poked his head in with a wide grin. "Dinner time."

The blond didn't even realize he was hungry until his tummy started grumbling. Dinner sounded really good at the moment. Maybe, someone in the universe somewhere actually did care about his well-being.

"Guile cooked today," the swordsman informed, sitting next to the spy.

On second thought…he should check his food for any poisonous substance. The blond placed his guitar down and slipped out of the room, remembering his way down to the kitchen. He made a mental checklist to assure that his life would have less chances of being in any sort of hazardous situation.

Both ex-Warrior members were left in the room and an immediate change of atmosphere occurred. Gabe sighed, ruffling the spy's hair. "I know you miss him but you're in the second-most elite team in the academy now."

The spy let out an aggravated sound. "I don't care. I was happy in the Warriors. Why did he send me here?" Quest questioned softly, staring at the Nicotine Gum wrapper in his hand.

The swordsman shrugged. "You shouldn't question his decisions. He was a leader for a reason. Now, enough moping, kid; it's time to fill that empty stomach of yours." Gabe chuckled, standing up and tugging at the boy's hand, trying to lighten the mood.

"I can't," the spy pouted. "I'm on security shift."

\/\/

It was like a televised American family dinner in the blond's perspective. He watched as Riot pushed more vegetables onto Ethan's plate. His little brother wasn't complaining at all, happily chewing on the sticks of carrots and tufts of broccoli. One twin fretting over the other…

"Guile, I'm fine seriously." Ail sighed, sipping his glass of water.

His twin flipped, stabbing his chicken slice with his fork. "Don't lie! You're clutching your middle like it aches so clearly you're not ok!"

Ail rolled his eyes. "I just got hit by the automatic dummy at practice earlier today, that's all. It's seriously nothing big."

"Elixir, check him!" Guile exclaimed hysterically.

The scientist gave him a look. "Guile, I've checked him 28 times today; the last check taking place only ten minutes ago."

It was hilarious to watch the twin flail his arms out in every direction in attempt to convince Elixir to re-examine his twin.

Sable was sitting at the head of the table, silently laughing at his crew members' behaviors.

Walking in, Gabe stole a chicken wing from Riot's plate, earning a playful punch from the boxer.

"Hey, where are Quest, K9 and Falcon?" Tarot wondered aloud, looking for the three missing members.

The swordsman sat down beside him. "They're on security duty."

\/\/

There wasn't much to do on security duty, it was a simple routine. Check the perimeters and make sure to alert the leader of anything suspicious. K9 walked along with the spy, or at least he tried to but a spy was a spy and Quest was jumping from one tree to another like a monkey on sugar. Weighing the key card in his hand, the dark-skinned man called out to the younger. "Hey, Quest! Come here for a minute!"

The spy hung down from a branch upside down. "Yes?" He was caught off-guard when K9 tossed him the card and nodded towards the exit. He nearly fell off the branch in disbelief. Surely, the leader's sideman wasn't suggesting…

"Go on," K9 urged. "Go meet him. I give you an hour. Happy belated birthday." He grinned before walking away.

Quest couldn't believe it, frozen for a while before he sped to the exit, sliding his card. Failing to notice the figure in front of him in eager of getting to meet his former leader, Quest pounced on the unsuspecting guy.

The spy nearly had a heart attack as the other stranger flipped him over. He thought he was caught by the newer members of the Warriors who didn't know that he had a history with them. They could easily kill him off. He then noticed the person above him chewing on a piece of gum… Wait…

"Still a kid I see." The stranger said and Quest had the widest grin knowing who it was.

"Creek…"

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><p>FC: Creek (Sam Garfield)<p> 


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